Back again…living in the past. I left you when I had a downstairs flower shop, the Enchanted Florist, and an upstairs gift store: NoKa. How did this morph into NoKa and NoKa Joe’s?
I ran the Enchanted Florist happily. I love flowers, I love design. I loved my customers and the creative challenges of the business. It always smelled great. It was joyous. We’d welcome the new seasonal flowers like old friends (“Look! Peonies are back!”) Unfortunately, flower shops are not profitable. I believe I ran it well. People liked it. But a beautiful florist has a cooler full of luscious, unusual flowers. And flowers die every 4 days. And you can buy them at the A&P. And a florist has a lot of staff – a designer, a counter person and a delivery person at a minimum. Rents are high. So…. it’s tough to make money. I knew I had to make a change. (The death of flower shops is widespread in America. Once a staple business, more and more towns are now without them. Bookstores are next! Support your local bookstore!)
I knew I wanted to be shop owner, so what business would flourish in that location? Hmmm…we’re right across from the train station. Katonah is a big commuter town for NYC…Nothing was open at the train station that early in the morning…hmmmm. Ok, ok, I get it…coffee!
And with NoKa upstairs….NoKa Joe’s was born downstairs. Joe – like a cuppa Joe. And Joe – like all my great morning commuters. Our first ad for the opening of NoKa Joe’s introduces our Joe for the first time. Today we’re much more than coffee, but that was our start.
And remember, the holiday season is approaching fast. (Too fast!) Remember to shop your local stores, and I look forward to seeing you here on the blog and at NoKa and NoKa Joe’s!
Next up. “Hey NoKa Jen, the UPS man is complaining. What are in all those boxes he’s delivering upstairs?”
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